1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a preventive and curative pharmaceutical composition for Clostridium difficile diarrhea and pseudomembranous colitis.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For the cure of Clostridium difficile diarrhea and pseudomembranous colitis, the chemotherapy by the use of Vancomycin (VCM), for example, which is strongly active against Clostridium difficile, the bacterium causative of the diseases, has been employed to bring about improvement in the remedy of abdominal symptoms such as diarrhea. The Clostridium difficile diarrhea, however, forms a spore in the intestinal canal and the spore is resistant to an antibacterial agent and cannot be easily eliminated in spite of an extended application of the chemotherapy by the use of Vancomycin. Since the spore of Clostridium difficile which outlives the therapy germinates and propagates again, recurrence of the diseases are diagnosed for the patent. Further, the administration of Vancomycin to a patient for a long period of time has the possibility that the activity of Vancomycin itself against bacteria will further disturb the host's intestinal microflora, induce new infections under the disturbed microflora, and increase the resistance of the pathogenic bacterium to chemicals, for example.
In the short-term administration of Vancomycin, the ratio of survival of spore is high and the consequent frequent recurrences of the disease induce asthenia in the patient. For the cure of the disease under discussion, a desire is expressed to develop a new therapeutic method which comprises a short-term administration of an antibacterial agent such as Vancomycin and a treatment capable of quickly eliminating the surviving spore without obstructing the restoration of intestinal microflora.
An object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a novel preventive and curative pharmaceutical composition for Clostridium difficile diarrhea and pseudomembranous colitis.